$10 Million For Domestic Terrorism Prevention

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $10 million in awards for the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Grant Program. Funds allocated through this program are aimed at enhancing the State’s nation leading efforts to prevent domestic terrorism and targeted violence across the State.

“We will never forget the racist and horrific act of violence that occurred in my hometown of Buffalo when 10 people were senselessly slaughtered solely because of the color of their skin,” Governor Hochul said. “Protecting New Yorkers is my top priority, and this funding will provide communities with the resources they need to further eradicate the scourge of domestic terror and keep our neighbors safe.”

This is the second year that grants have been available through this program. In the days after the May 14, 2022 attack in Buffalo, Governor Hochul issued Executive Order 18 requiring each county and New York City to develop plans to confront and prevent domestic terrorism and establishing New York’s first-ever Domestic Terrorism Prevention Unit (DTPU) within the State’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) to oversee this critical initiative.

In addition to the creation of the new Unit, the Executive Order also included $10 million in state funding that was made available to all New York State counties and NYC to support their domestic terrorism prevention initiatives which included the development of local multi-disciplinary Threat Assessment and Management (TAM) teams.

Since Executive Order 18 was signed, 44 counties plus New York City now field TAM teams, which have collectively reviewed over 2,000 cases. Members of these teams can include law enforcement, mental health professionals, school officials, large employers, healthcare systems, and other government and non-profit service providers. Since 2023, DTPU has held 53 trainings attended by nearly 1400 New Yorkers on threat evaluation and reporting, which teaches participants how to identify and manage threats of targeted violence and domestic terrorism. To continue building on this important work, more than 250 TAM Team members met this week in Albany to share best practices and discuss common challenges and solutions.

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, “New Yorkers deserve to feel secure in their communities. This funding is a tool to help teams from many disciplines including mental health professionals, educators and law enforcement work together to help prevent domestic terrorism and other acts of mass violence before they occur.”

New York City and the counties noted below will receive an award of $172,413 to help offset the costs of developing TAM teams and update their Domestic Terrorism Prevention Plans.

About the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provides leadership, coordination and support for efforts to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other man-made and natural disasters, threats, fires and other emergencies. For more information, visit the DHSES Facebook page, follow @NYSDHSES on Twitter and Instagram, or visit dhses.ny.gov.